Hell of blow for Dave Whelan!

WIGAN owner Dave Whelan was right – Wayne Rooney should have been banned for elbowing James McCarthy.

Published 6th March 2011

Dave Whelan missed a once-in-a-lifetime chance to make mega money

Could Whelan’s ­outburst be because he blew the business deal of a lifetime?

But FIFA rules – and referee Mark ­Clattenburg’s decision not to book him – mean, rightly or wrongly, that he couldn’t be punished further.

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Whelan, however, is talking total tosh when he says the FA are scared of Man United.[>

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The FA weren’t scared when they banned Rio Ferdinand and Eric Cantona for eight months each.[>

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And they are set to suspend and fine Alex Ferguson for slagging off Martin Atkinson.[>

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Hardly evidence of a club beyond ­censure.[>

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Could Whelan’s ­outburst be because he blew the business deal of a lifetime?[>

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Back in 1989 he says then United owner Martin ­Edwards offered to sell him 51 per cent of the club for just £11million.[>

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But Whelan said no because he feared fans of other clubs would boycott his sports shops.[>

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“I should have done it, no ­question,” he said in 2009. [>

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“I would have got a controlling interest in the biggest club in the world for £11m. I thought towns like London, Liverpool and Leeds wouldn’t take kindly to me ­being ­involved with Man United and JJB Sports. I was probably wrong. [>

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“I planned to build a massive health and ­leisure club with a shop underneath and a big red dome on the top with lights coming out of it that signalled ‘We are Man United’.[>

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“Nike wanted to be the sponsors. It would have been fantastic.’’ But instead the Glazers bought United two years ago in a debt-ridden £790m buyout.[>

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The club is now worth ­between £1.2bn and £1.5bn. United could have been Dave Whelan’s for £11m – the price of a squad player.[>

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That has got to hurt – even more than a Rooney elbow. Even for a multi-millionaire.[>